MIRecovery

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Healthworried13

Yeah, I am pretty sure it's alcoholic neuropathy, I just havent stopped completely. I only drink 1 or 2 times a week and 2 drinks maybe 3 max. And taking vitamins every day. My symptoms have improved A LOT, but do come back a little once in a while.

brian22hyland

Hello,

I am 24 and have drank heavily enough like usually just twice a week binge drinking (but no more than any of my friends or a lot of people I know, maybe thats just my Irish culture :/ ) since I was 17, I started drinking when I was 14 but just every other weekend.

I have experienced very weird numbness, mainly in my legs (feels like ground is soft under my left foot) but sometimes it could be anywhere and sometimes (not often) feelings of dizziness over the last year. Other than that I am very healthy, I go to the gym, play football, boxing, surf and it doesnt interfere with any of that.

If I stop it definitely does get better but then if I drink again it comes back. I went to 3 different doctors and explained my symptoms but they said my liver results were perfect, I told them I thought it was caused from alcohol and they told me it should'nt be that at your age :/

I also have tendonitis in my hand, which originally came from chainsawing trees when I lived in Oz for a year but I'm thinking now that alcohol may have contributed to that a little as well.

Was wondering if anyone has gone off drink for a long period of time and if the symptoms have completely gone. I'm aware that the recovery is very varied for every individual but it would be nice to have a goal to aim for and be able to just have a pint or two in the future without symptoms reoccuring?

Any advice would be great thanks

ScottFromWI

So why not stop drinking for an extended period of time and see if it gets completely better? It seems pretty clear that drinking is part of the cause, why make things worse?

Dee74

Hi and welcome brian22hyland

Scott's suggestion is a good one - why not cut the drinking out and see?

D

skipper123

I developed a numbness in my finger just about half of the finger. It didn't bother me too much but after googling discovered it was most likely due to heavy drinking. I did not go to the doctors because I was ashamed of my drinking but had no intention of stopping so I lived with it for about 4-6 months and it eventually went away. I guess I was very lucky because even that did not deter my drinking.

myjourney111713

I had a burning pain in my left upper thigh and my calves for months. It drove me crazy. I knew it wasn't due to pulling a muscle or exercise. In fact, a spot on the back of my calves were sensitive even to touch. It really scared me. I'm about to start Day 11 and those pains are completely gone. I don't think that's typical, but somehow, after Day 6, I had no more pain.

notgonnastoptry

I had bouts of this. For a lot of the last year, especially as I began to drink more and more, I had pain in some of my toes. Almost like an ingrown nail or something. I'd read that anxiety tries to escape the body through the hands and feet, so I'm not sure what this was.

I do know or think I had some sort of neuropathy as well. Over the last year it enhanced. Sometimes, especially with red wine, I would get tingling and numbness in my left calf and foot. Almost like it had fallen asleep. It would be gone after drinking. I'm sure it was related to teh alcohol (like almost everything) but it's hard to pinpoint things. It's completely gone.

The thing I really thought I'd ruined was my sight. Even a month ago, shortly post-hospital, my sight was awful, especially if I stayed on the computer too long. I'd basically started looking for eye doctors because I figured the nerve damage was permanent. I couldn't even see my phone at night in bed. I know that's not a good idea to read it in bed, but it was a big blur. I was pretty sure I'd messed my eyes up. Nope. Those have returned to normal as well.

notgonnastoptry

This is a reply to the super heavy legs. I felt like my legs were made of boulders at the end. I remember walking across the lot feeling like the Hulk or He Man or something. It was like they weighed 500 pounds each. Ground wasn't really soft, but taking steps felt very weird. I'm sure that was somehow related.

Hollis

I have been getting tingling in my hands and feet for a couple years after drinking and have wondered what it is - some 'weird' symptom of hangover.

I've just discovered alcoholic neuropathy and am wondering if it is this. I've been wondering if it worth going near a GP with it, and if they'd do anything or if you'd be sent for any tests.

I've been drinking for 30 years , sometime too much, but recently as an occasional binge drinker.. maybe time to stop.

hpdw

This thread has caught a lot of attention .
I posted a very similar title in an anxiety forum in 2013 which iv'e just read.
Here are the main parts I posted . Note I was drinking heavy then :


I am drinking quite heavy on my 4 days off and the next day my nerves are on fire , actually this is nearly constant with random sharp nerve type pain all over body but the most distressing area is in my abdomen which causes me to panic . My fingers ache then scalp can hurt and feel creeping sensations and tingling . Front of thighs are hot and week , arm muscles feel hot and week sometimes sore . Now im wondering if I have alcoholic neuropathy . I read claire weeks books and audio to help me understand the panic state and I do understand it but feel trapped in this cycle of strange sensations and worry . I know if i take a drink to calm these feelings I will be much worse when it wears off . I am not on any medications but wonder if I should be . I,m 56 ............


Since that time I have had sober periods of 2 years , 5 months 3 months and sometimes a few weeks .

The doctors checked many things and the only thing they found wrong was my thyroid was under-active ( hypothyroidism ) . I was put on 75mg levothyroxine , and recently increased to 100mg .

The doctors decided that most of these symptoms were anxiety based made worse by drinking and the thyroid not working properly also played a part .

I am happy to report the vast majority of these symptoms went away each time I was sober only to flare up while back drinking ,especially numb feet and cold water sensations on legs .

It is clear to me that alcohol plays a major part in nerve irritation and/or damage among a myriad of other things .

Currently I am not free of certain nerve sensations which I find are worse when I am under too much stress . Namely cobweb like sensations on face or fore arms and sometimes buzzing soles of feet first thing in the morning which all settle down when i,m calm .

Thanks for posting .

Frank14

I had this in the side of my foot and it was numb for about 6 months. It went completely away after getting off alcohol and taking multivitamins and B12. Your body has an incredible way of healing itself.

Zee

Well, I'm not going to say that its the same for everyone. Just from my own experience. I now have cirrhosis of the liver (and still alive 6 years later, yay!) when I was drinking I had pitted oedema in my legs so bad that my skin split. They were so painful and tender, a sheet would be too much. That was 2011. Some bright spark said to raise my legs so the fluid would lessen... It didn't. It just carried on into ascites to which I had 7 odd litres drained. I had awful neuropathy from the knees down for a couple of years. I had read that it never went away. When I explained to people what it was like to have this, they didn't understand. How can people comprehend that your legs and feet are massively painful, tender and numb at the same time. With a good sprinkling of pins and needles? That it feels like you are walking on gravel with bare feet even when you have furry slippers on? It's hard. I never thought I'd say this, but with complete abstinence of alcohol, it has gone, well 95-96-97% ish. Took a looong time but it has. Never underestimate what hellish symptoms your liver can cause when it's failing. I hardly see posts on here about liver-related problems. It just seems a taboo subject because there is a lot of denial kicking around. I recommend every single person who is still actively drinking... go and get a liver function test done. Seriously. It's a forgiving organ to a point but it can turn off so very fast. I hate alcohol with a passion after what it put me through. Any kind of detox (don't do it without supervision etc etc) is a walk in the park compared to the enormous kick up the backside an overworked/failing liver will give you. I'm saying this as a recovering alcoholic (the bottle of vodka a day kind) please please please, but the bottle down and see a doctor for a blood test, it's easy and it can save your sanity and your life.

lafoie

Hello. I also have a question about this. I have leg pain. These issues started recently for me, and I have quit drinking for good (since only two weeks). I have tightness in my left leg (lower thigh in particular), and even the right leg can hurt slightly. Today I noticed (after having walked a little longer than usual) that my feet (especially toes, all of them) became red and tingling. It's obviously a circulation issue. Also my arms tingle a bit, but not as much as legs.

I am 34 and resolute to never drink again. I am awaiting my doctor's appointment in 10 days, but I was wondering if anyone else had the "red toes" issue and how did that develop? Do you think I have a chance of recovery if I quit completely?

Please help!

NoahJ

I’m 39, 9 months sober, having been a daily drinker since 17. Good for you for following up with a neuro. Make a log of your symptoms (when they occur, how they last, etc) that you can leave with him/her - it will be helpful. It will
Also help focus your energy and lay off dr Google. I’ve been there on this.

I had, and still have muscle cramping. Often it’s related to exercise intolerance, and made worse by not enough rest, dehydration, too much caffeine. My neuropathy was worse in my hands than legs - exacerbated by pinched nerve in elbow. During long walks, especilly earlier in my sobriety, my hands would cramp, and my fingers would turn red. For me, this phenomenon was due to exercise/temperature intolerance, which comes with neuropathy. I also still have the tingles and twitches, which come and go, it seem to have reduced in severity.

I don’t know if yours will or won’t go away. Mine is very slowly getting better, it comes and goes, and may persist. My neuro thinks it will eventually go away tho. So i don’t know about yours. But if it’s alcohol nuropthTh, there is zero chance it goes away without you quitting.

I was scared too. I lost my father to neurological disease, so waiting through the dr appointment cycle was torture. This is made harder if you are withdrawing. So keep working the medical system for advice, treatment, and follow up.

NoahJ

My bad - I misread your post - congratulations on quitting!

Just don’t get frustrated if it doesn’t all clear up immediately,

lafoie

Update on my case for anyone interested:

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ml#post6767271 (Neuropathy Symptoms)